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Fort Hood gunman's dad says son 'not in his right mind'

The father of Spc. Ivan Lopez said Friday that his son "must not have been in his right mind " when he allegedly went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, killing three soldiers before turning the pistol on himself.

Spc. Ivan Lopez went on a shooting rampage after an "escalating argument," reportedly over denial of family leave.

Bob Gordon, left, and Bob Butler paint crosses they placed in front of 16 American flags as they build a memorial in front of Central Christian Disciples of Christ church in Killeen, Texas, April 3, 2014, for the victims of the shootings at Fort Hood.(Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

The father of Spc. Ivan Lopez said Friday that his son "must not have been in his right mind " when he went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood after an argument, killing three soldiers before turning the pistol on himself.

"This situation has caused great pain," Ivan Lopez Sr. said in a statement. "I ask for prayers for the affected families, even more so when there is still an ongoing investigation. My son must not have been in his right mind. He wasn't like that."

The Lopez family lives in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, where the son once worked as a police officer. The statement was released by Glidden Lopez Torres, a family spokesman.

Lopez opened fire Wednesday at several locations over a two-block area on the sprawling U.S. Army base in central Texas after an "escalating argument" with other soldiers, the senior officer at Fort Hood said at a news briefing Friday afternoon.

Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, head of the Army's III Corps at the fort, said Friday that Lopez's mental condition was not the "direct precipitating factor" of the rampage. Thursday, he said there was "strong evidence" that Lopez "had a medical history that indicated an unstable psychiatric or psychological condition."

Army officials say a "verbal altercation" precipitated the shooting spree, but there is no indication that Lopez was targeting specific individuals.

The argument appears to have been over a denial of family leave, according to news reports Friday.

The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, citing an unidentified law enforcement official, reported that shortly before the rampage, Lopez argued with Fort Hood officers about the rejection.

Lopez wanted time off "for something regarding his mother's death and some other matters," a federal official told the L.A. Times, adding that it was denied at the Pentagon or "wasn't going to happen as quickly as he wanted it to."

The father of one soldier wounded in the attack.said he was told that the gunman went to get a leave form and was told to come back the next day to pick it up, WLBT-TV reported.

Lopez "blew his top" when told his request had been denied, the law enforcement official told the L.A.Times.

Returning with a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol he bought last month, Lopez proceeded to shoot dead three soldiers and wound 16 others before killing himself after a military police officer fired once at him and apparently missed.

Ten soldiers have been released from the hospital and have returned to duty, Milley said. He also identified the dead, though their families had already released their names.

Sgt. 1st Class Danny Ferguson, a native of Mulberry, Fla., who had just returned from Afghanistan, died while trying to keep the shooter out of the room, Kristen Haley, also a soldier, tells WTSP-TV.

"He held that door shut because it wouldn't lock," Haley, who was nearby when the shooting broke out, tells 10 News, the Tampa TV station. "It seems the doors would be bullet proof, but apparently they're not, If he wasn't the one standing there holding those doors closed, that shooter would have been able to get through and shoot everyone else."

Kristen Haley, left, says Sgt. 1st Class Danny Ferguson, her fiance, died in the Fort Hood shooting while trying to keep a door shut to a room packed with military personnel near the rampage.(Photo: Family photo)

Sgt. Timothy Owens, 37, of Illinois, was also killed in the attack, according to this mother, the Associated Press reports. Mary Muntean, of Effingham, Ill., said she was notified of her son's death by his wife, Billie Owens.

One of the injured soldiers was identified by his wife as Sgt. Jonathan Westbrook, of McComb, Miss., the AP reported. Renee Powell Westbrook said that her husband was recovering from wounds to the chest and neck.

Also injured was as Maj. Patrick Miller, 32, an Iraq War veteran from Allegany, N.Y., who was shot in the abdomen, WGRZ-TV reports.

The third victim was Carlos Lazaney, 38, of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, NBC News reports, quoting the city's mayor. Mayor Carlos Mendez Martinez said that he had spoken to the victim's aunt.

"They are an excellent family, really good people," he said, according to NBC. "And what's so sad is that he was 38 years old and had joined the military since he was 18. He was going to retire at the end of the year. It is so sad."

Milley said the shooter walked into a building on the post Wednesday afternoon and opened fire, got into a car, fired fired again and then went to another building. He continued shooting until he was met by the female MP. After initially raising his hands, he suddenly pulled out his pistol, put it to his head and killed himself.

Milley did not elaborate on a possible motive for the shooting, but said the "verbal altercation" involved another soldier or soldiers.

"There is a strong possibility that that immediately preceded the shooting," Milley said. Lopez purchased the .45-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun used in the shootings at a local gun store March 1.

Last month, according to Fox News Latino, Lopez -- purportedly using the name "Ivan Slipknot" on Facebook, posted comments in Spanish in which he said the devil had taken him and that he was "full of hatred."

The post, dated March 1, referred to anger over a belief that he had been robbed.

"I have just lost my inner peace, full of hatred, I think this time the devil will take me," Lopez posted on his Facebook page.

"I was robbed last night and I am sure it was 2 'flacos' (guys). Green light and finger ready. As easy as that."

While the reasons behind the attack remain a mystery, Army officials said that Lopez was being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder, but had seen no combat while deployed in Iraq three years ago.

"His records show no wounds, no involvement — direct involvement — in combat," said Army Secretary John McHugh, the U.S. Army's top civilian official. "As Gen. Milley said, no record of Purple Heart or any injury that might lead us to further investigate a battle-related TBI (traumatic brain injury) or such."

Milley said Lopez had "self-diagnosed" a traumatic brain injury. "He was not wounded in action."

On Thursday, McHugh said the suspected shooter had two deployments, including the one in Iraq. Lopez, a native of Puerto Rico who has been married twice and has four children, enlisted as an infantryman and later switched his specialty to truck driver.

Lopez, who was on a variety of prescribed drugs including Ambien, had not yet been diagnosed for post-traumatic stress disorder. But he was also undergoing treatment for depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance and a variety of other issues, McHugh said.

"He was seen just last month by a psychiatrist," McHugh said. "He was fully examined. And as of this morning, we had no indication on the record of that examination that there was any sign of likely violence, either to himself or to others. No suicidal ideation."

Last year, Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan was convicted and sentenced to death in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack at Fort Hood on his fellow soldiers as they waited inside a crowded building on the base. That shooting spree left 13 dead and more than 30 wounded, in the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in U.S. history. Hasan was convicted and awaits execution at a federal prison.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Wednesday night traced the gun used in Wednesday's attack to a local gun shop, said a federal law enforcement official not authorized to comment publicly. The official confirmed that the gun had been purchased at Guns Galore, the same shop that sold a weapon to Hasan.

Pentagon regulations require troops who live off base to register weapons if they intend to bring them onto the installations, Warren said. Those weapons cannot be concealed and base security personnel conduct random checks to ensure compliance, he said.

"We try to do everything we can to encourage soldiers to register their personal weapons, even when they live off post," McHugh said. "We are not legally able to compel them to register weapons when they reside off post."

Soldiers who live on posts in base housing may also keep registered firearms. Soldiers in barracks must keep them in a locked arms room, Warren said.

Three people were killed and 16 others were injured in a shooting at Fort Hood on April 2. The shooting suspect, Spc. Ivan Lopez, then committed suicide. This is the same Texas military base where Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan shot and killed 13 on Nov. 5, 2009.